How to Get Rid of Canker Sores

Here's how I got rid of canker sores.

But first an important caution:

CAUTION: PERSISTENT CANKER SORES LASTING MORE THAN 14 DAYS MAY INDICATE AN UNDERLYING CAUSE THAT OUGHT TO BE CHECKED BY A PHYSICIAN. Canker sores may also be caused by anemia, Iron deficiency, Vitamin B12 deficiency, or Folic acid deficiency. These deficiencies may be related to diet, or may in rare cases be caused by an intestinal disorder that will need a physician's treatment. A vitamin supplement may help you prevent canker sores. But for many people, the following is all they need to know to get rid of painful canker sores.

I used to get canker sores all the time. They spoiled holiday meals. They kept me from enjoying the food on my first trip to Europe (ever try eating that delicious, hard German bread with an immense canker sore on the side of your tongue? Ouch!)

I did research in medical journals, and even interviewed the world's leading aphthous stomatitis (the medical term for canker sores) researcher. But nobody could help me. Nobody even knew for sure what caused canker sores. Then I started putting 2 & 2 together on my own.

What I figured out is that most of the pain of a canker sore comes from a secondary infection inhabited by bacteria or viruses, or maybe little red vermin from Venus--whatever it was, it was something my college microbiology class taught me how to deal with.

After years of research and experimentation, I finally realized that a canker sore starts as a minor irritation in the mouth--perhaps a cut, perhaps an auto-immune reaction, perhaps an allergy. But, at least in my mouth, that irritation will heal by itself in a couple days UNLESS it becomes host to a secondary infection.

When a secondary infection takes root in a small irritation, the canker sore starts to grow and become painful. Germs multiply and prosper all day long in that little irritation, but there’s enough activity in your mouth to keep them from really getting carried away. But then when you go to bed…that’s when things really get going. Those little germs party all night while your mouth is idle and has very little flow of saliva.

That's why a canker sore hurts so bad when you first wake up.

So, how do you get rid of these nasty party hounds? Just rinsing with an antiseptic won't do it. They put up a shield of mucous and just hunker down and wait out the assault. You've gotta get rid of that shield, then hit them with the antiseptic.

Here's how I do it:

AS SOON AS I FEEL A LITTLE CANKER SORE COMING ON (timing is crucial. This won't help much after the canker sore is large, and besides it hurts like the dickens on the big guys.)

  1. I take a swig of Listerine into my mouth (other antiseptic mouthwashes might work as well, I don't know) and hold it there for at least 60 seconds (I got the time from studying microbiology--it takes that long to make sure the germs are good and dead).
  2. While the mouthwash is in my mouth, I take my tongue and gently rub the canker sore. It hurts a bit, but not much if you get to it early enough. If the sore is on your tongue, rub it against some other part of the mouth to get rid of the mucous.
  3. After 60+ seconds, spit out the mouthwash. (NEVER SWALLOW ANY ANTISEPTIC UNLESS INSTRUCTED BY A COMPETENT MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL)

Do this as soon as you feel a canker sore coming on. Then

  1. REPEAT THE PROCEDURE just before you go to bed. And
  2. REPEAT IT AGAIN first thing when you get up.
  3. You might want to do it once or twice more during the day.

I find if I follow this procedure morning and night, nothing else is necessary.

Keep repeating this procedure until the canker sore disappears (usually 2 to 3 days). The worst problem for me is that the cure works so well that in the morning I forget I have a canker coming on, and neglect to do the treatment. Then during the day it starts to revive.

The only canker sores that have gotten big and troublesome in my mouth in the past 15 years are ones I've neglected to treat in this way. I bit the side of my tongue a few weeks ago, but treated it immediately with Listerine (while it was still bleeding), then followed my procedure night and morning. The spot was sore, but never became infected or particularly painful.

Hope it works for you too!

If you try it and it does or doesn't work, please write to me Ken Wade and let me know. Am I the only one this works for????

document source: http://tagnet.org/spiritquest/canker.htm

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